When someone mentions a vacation for which they traveled to a faraway destination and visited a famous monument, do you feel a twinge of envy? With the economy still in a tailspin, many people are hard-pressed just to manage a vacation within their country. In the United States, however, you can visit grand monuments that are normally located in other countries or in other states. From coast to coast, you can find great US knockoffs of world-class statues, artifacts, ruins, and wonderful locations. Here are 10 famous monuments of the world that can be found and visited within the United States where they have been replicated.

1. Eiffel Tower

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You can visit the Eiffel Tower without traveling to Paris, France. Instead, travel down the Las Vegas Strip where you will find the Paris Las Vegas hotel and casino that is themed after the city of Paris. In front of the hotel, the Eiffel Tower stands at 540 feet tall and is a 5/8 replica. That’s right, love is in the air and that doesn’t mean you have to travel to France in the springtime. At Paris in Vegas, you and your love can get into a glass elevator and go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, nearly 50 stories above the ground. That is only a 90 second ride though for those of you who are afraid of heights. For a romantic nighttime visit, you can gaze from the observation deck at the dazzling display of Vegas lights and at the stunning Bellagio Fountains. If you choose to go during the daytime, the observation level of the Eiffel Tower is 460 feet above the casino floor and you will be able to take in all of Vegas, all the way to the mountains in the distance.

2. Mount Rushmore

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Every year, millions of tourists travel through the Badlands to South Dakota for the purpose of seeing Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The massive 60-foot presidential heads are carved into a mountain and represent the first 150 years of presidential history. If you would like to see the sculptured heads of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, you could also visit Santa Clara, California. The miniature replica is better than not seeing the real thing in real life, but you will probably be less impressed than with the original that was sculpted into the side of a mountain. On the upside, you could stand next to them to pose for a picture and get much closer than you could to the real thing.

3. Sphinx And Pyramid

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Still in Vegas, if you stroll around the corner from the Eiffel Tower, you will be awed as you enter Egypt. One of the first things to impress you will surely be the 30-story tall pyramid of black glass. If you take in this grand sight at night, a Xenon light in the pyramid’s apex shines straight into space. The Luxor Pyramid and Sphinx, located across from the Las Vegas International Airport, boasts a Sphinx that is actually two stories taller than the original Great Sphinx of Giza. The Sphinx guards the Luxor Hotel and Casino entrance and is also a fun sight to take in by monorail.

4. Leaning Tower of Pisa

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The Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy is the third oldest structure in Pisa’s Cathedral Square. It stands 183 feet high to the tower on its lowest leaning side and 186 feet tall at its tallest side. If traveling through Tuscany is not possible even if you bust open your piggy bank, perhaps you could swing a visit to Niles, Illinois. In Niles, you can see a 94 foot tall, 1/2 size copy, of the Leaning Tower. Pisa, Italy, is a sister city to Niles and is considered one of the reasons this replica was constructed. The Leaning Tower in Illinois is located next to the YMCA and the Leaning Tower Plaza area has four fountains and a 30-foot pool. Sometimes in the summer, you can also catch a free open air concert as you gaze in appreciation at the Leaning Tower.

5. Statue of Liberty

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If you are near New York City and Liberty Island, you surely have seen the Statue of Liberty. If you are nowhere close to the East Coast, however, you can find several smaller replicas of America’s most famous lady. One such place to take in both the Statue of Liberty and New York City can be found in Las Vegas. If you cruise to the south end of The Strip, Las Vegas Boulevard, you will view the 1/3 scale Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, and Brooklyn Bridge. It also has a roller coaster twisting and turning among the New York theme. These squeezed together skyscrapers and the grand lady herself are located outside the New York New York Hotel Casino. Where else can you see the Statue of Liberty in the middle of a desert?

6. Stonehenge

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Although most people have heard the saying, “Don’t mess with Texas,” you can discover how true that is. A shocking surprise of culture can be found off a winding country road located two miles from Hunt, Texas. You might hit the brakes and blink a few times, wondering if you have been transported to Salisbury Plain in England, viewing one of the most famous sites in the world. A replica of the pagan ruins Stonehenge looms large and impressive in the Texas Hill Country. Called Stonehenge II by monument builder Al Shepperd, most of the stones are constructed out of plaster and wire mesh, but a few are carved out of actual limestone. The 13 foot arch has a 3-foot-wide opening and is sure to impress you when you drive near Shepperd’s 22-acre retirement land. But wait, there’s more. It’s a two for one deal. How else could you visit both Stonehenge and Easter Island in one afternoon?

7. Easter Island Heads

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Many people travel the South Pacific for the specific purpose of seeing the world-renowned stone sculptures of Polynesian primitives. If traveling 2,000 miles off the coast of Chile to Easter Island is not within the means of your budget, then you can see wonderful reproductions of the 13-foot-tall heads in Texas. Although often referred to as Easter Island Heads, the large stone statues, like the original native carvings called moai, are more than simply “heads.” For your viewing pleasure, you can see the complete torsos reproduced and awaiting you to discover them just a few miles from Hunt, Texas, as you take a quiet drive through the countryside. Two massive imitation moai monuments sit close to Stonehenge.

8. Parthenon

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The original Parthenon is a temple of the Greek Goddess Athena who was, among other things, the goddess of peace, warfare, wisdom, and strategy. If you don’t have the dollars to fly to Athens, Greece, why not check out the full scale Parthenon replica at Centennial Park in Nashville, Tennessee?  That Parthenon was built in 1897 with plaster, wood, and bricks, but the exact reproduction was rebuilt in concrete. Another full scale treasure to be found is the 42-foot statue Athena, a focus of the Parthenon just as it was in ancient Greece. Inside, Nashville’s Parthenon is an art museum. Outdoors, it is often the backdrop for classic Greek plays that are usually free to the public. Visit Nashville and the Parthenon for a refreshing breath of culture.

9. Aztec Temple

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Leave it to Disney in Orlando, Florida, to replicate many cultural places and monuments. At Epcot theme park, the Mexico Pavilion holds a towering pyramid that was modeled after an Aztec Temple of Quetzalcoatl at Teotihuacan, Mexico. The archaeological site of Teotihuacan was once the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas and draws many tourists to the Avenue of the Dead. Quetzalcoatl was the “feather-serpent” deity. At Epcot, however, it is always an air-conditioned respite from the Florida heat, dimmed to twilight, to observe a  lovely Aztec Temple replica and other ancient artifact knockoffs.

10. London Bridge

(image credit: London Bridge Resort)

The London Bridge once spanned the River Thames and connected the City of London with Southwark. In 1968, however, London sold their famous bridge to the American Robert McCulloch. The bridge was taken apart and the pieces numbered. The concrete frame and stones that were six to eight inches thick took three years to be re-assembled. In 1971, London Bridge was reconstructed at Lake Havasu, Arizona, and provides a crossing from Lake Havasu to Thomson Bay. Other English style themes popped up around beautiful Lake Havasu, including a Tudor period shopping mall. The “new” London Bridge is second only to the Grand Canyon as popular attractions in Arizona.